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Illuminati2g.com | Billion Interview

I2G chopped game with Kwality Records artist Billion for a exclusive interview. We discuss the Miami natives trek from Florida to his current home in New York and the differences in the music, his upbringing, his new album SPF Dirty, debuting this fall and much more so check it out.

Illuminati 2G is here with Billion how's it going?

Pretty good, pretty good. Thanks so much for having me. I am Billion, I am a Miami artist that is living in New York, I have been living there for 10 years. Grinding it out, doing this music shit, getting ready to drop my new album, SPF Dirty. Early fall or the end of the summer and we are promoting the hell out of that right now with a couple free tracks for the fans.

Tell me a little bit about how you got your start in music and who are some of your musical influences out there.

I am a product of the 80's, although my early years I grew up with the Beastie Boys sound and all that real hip hop. I am a product of the 80's but I think once I really got into my music in the 90's, I think again my influences were as far reaching as the Beastie Boys to Jay-Z and Wu-Tang. I think those were the first 3 artists I really started getting into when I started getting into hip hop. How did you get the name Billion for yourself?

Billion the name was actually from Miami so nicknames are actually given to you, they are rarely something that you choose. I like it that way, it makes it more personal and special. It was what I was called back in the day, and it is a long drawn out explanation as to why but I guess the homies always had faith. If anyone is going to make a billion dollars it is you. It sort of started that way and I got the name Billion, but for me the only thing I added to it is that it is about the people. Having that number is not only a catchy word in language base, but it is something special to me and I try to bring it out to the people.

You grew up in Florida and now you live in New York. Explain the music scene where you are from in Florida and the biggest difference being now on the eastcoast in New York. What is the biggest differences that you see in the music scenes?

I think right off the bat as a artist from Miami I was listening to Trick Daddy and even from way back JT Money and coming from that Miami bass booty sort of sound. I think what it added when I moved to New York is that I always stayed true to the root of hip hop. I think there is also alot of southern flavor in the music that I do so it is a little different, but it is booming beats. A whole lot of bass rattling the trunks peppered in with some really tight lyrics. Keeping it true to what hip hop is.

You mentioned earlier that you are getting ready to drop your new album SPF Dirty in the Fall. Is there any details that you can give about the album? Guest appearances, producers?

Yeah alot of the record was produced by myself and Dan Haedicke over at Kwality Records, so alot of the production was in house but we did have a producer by the name of NSG Music, making moves over there in the UK. We got a beat from him, he is a London based producer and he has sort of a electro sound to his hip hop and it was just a beat I could not pass up when he played it for me. As far as features, I collaborate with my homies. I try to big up the homies always so I got my homie Mena Tha Menace and he is a Miami artist too and he is living here in New York. I grew up with that cat, and also a Dominican cat by the name of Mo' Fresh, a raegaeton artist. He came in and did a couple hooks and a couple verses for us and some tight work.

Do you guys already have a single and a video picked out for the album?

For the album, yeah we have a single called Fluid. It is not out yet, it will be out in a couple of months. We are shooting a video for it next month. It is bonafided, we have a director for the video, several different locations have been selected for the video, so we are going all out for it. From us, we do alot of our own videos as well. We put them out virally which I direct and Dan Haedicke has co directed with me as well that we have done for some of our free tracks and others as well. So yeah the single is Fluid on SPF Dirty and we are doing a video and the whole nine.

What are your thoughts right now on the state of hip hop and what do you feel once SPF Dirty drops is going to bring fresh and new to the game that maybe you feel is lacking or missing right now.

I think people are...., you know I am not going to name any names or anything like that. I think that there is alot of entertaining things on the radio, and it's cool. When you are in the club, you got a couple drinks in ya, you chilling with a girl ya know. But I also think that there is alot of lyrical stuff lacking in hip hop right now. It is really simple and really dumbed down and I think what I am bringing is hard hitting beats with that Miami south sound and some lyrics over that. I will have a couple party tracks, but even those are really lyrical. There is alot of wordplay in it. I think alot of the times today there is alot of monotonous and simple words. Which are catchy and at times entertaining but I think as a whole all of us as hip hop artists can step it up just a little bit as a whole.

What is your website or myspace information for people looking to check out your music and see what you got going on?

www.myspace.com/billionmusic. You can also hit up the Kwality Records one which iswww.myspace.com/kwalityrecords. We have all of our links there, we have the email, twitter, which is www.twitter.com/billibaracuda. You can get all the info from there and the blogs that we are featured on and all the contacts are there.

Well that is all the questions I have for you, appreciate you getting down for the interview.

Yeah for sure thanks so much.

Is there any last words or shoutouts you want to get out there to the people?

Always holding it down over here at Kwality Records. Dan Haedicke. Alot of the stuff that I am doing I have to attribute alot to him. Alot of his input goes into this behind the scenes. It's not a one man show, people should acknowledge the people working hard behind the scenes. Shout out to Dan Haedicke, Kwality Records, always letting me do what I feel and for always having alot of trust in me.